High school girls flag football is coming to Minnesota this spring. The Vikings announced Friday they’ll launch a league featuring 51 high schools that will culminate with a state championship game at June 9 at TCO Stadium in Eagan. The NFL team piloted a smaller-scale program last year. This year , the Vikings said they will contribute $600,000 to support the league and participating schools. Last month, the Vikings announced the launch of a collegiate women’s league featuring local area colleges. “This is an exciting time for women’s and girls’ flag football in Minnesota,” Vikings Vice President of Social Impact Brett Taber said in a release. “Since testing the pilot league in 2024, interest in girls flag football has increased dramatically at the high school level, and to see such a high number of schools participate this year is a tremendous sign for future growth.” Teams will play double-headers on four consecutive Sundays from April 27 through May 18. Playoffs are set to begin on June 1 with the title bout slated for Monday, June 9. The league will not be officially affiliated with the Minnesota State High School League. Girls flag football is not currently an MSHSL-sanctioned sport. But that could eventually change. MSHSL executive director Erich Martens said in a statement that as member schools consider and begin to offer the program, “we will continue discussing with MSHSL membership the sport’s popularity, growth and future in Minnesota and supporting the interests of our member schools and their students.” The Associated Press reports there are 14 states that have sanctioned girls flag football as a high school varsity sport.  Nearly 500,000 girls ages 6 to 17 years old played flag football in 2023, per NFL FLAG. The schools competing in the league’s first season are: Anoka Apple Valley Benilde-St. Margaret’s Big Lake Bloomington Kennedy Burnsville Centennial Champlin Park DeLaSalle Eagan Eastview Eden Prairie Elk River Fairmont Farmington Hopkins La Crescent Lakeville North Lakeville South Mahtomedi Melrose Minneapolis Camden Minneapolis Edison Minneapolis North Minneapolis Roosevelt Minneapolis South Minneapolis Southwest Minneapolis Washburn Minnetonka Monticello Mounds View North St. Paul Park Pine Island Proctor Richfield Robbinsdale Cooper Rochester Mayo Rosemount Roseville Sartell Simley South St. Paul Spring Lake Park St. Cloud Tech St. Louis Park St. Michael-Albertville Tartan Two Rivers Waterville-Elysian-Morristown Woodbury Related Articles Source: Vikings acquire running back Jordan Mason in trade with 49ers John Shipley: Vikings would do well to sign Aaron Rodgers Vikings: Minnesota lands third-round compensatory pick in upcoming NFL Draft Vikings spend big to keep cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. Source: Vikings make first move, add cornerback Isaiah Rodgers ...read more read less